Bristol County houses and what each kind asks for

The two cities and the older housing in them

New Bedford and Fall River hold close to 195,000 people between them, and their housing is the oldest in the county. Census figures put New Bedford's median year built at 1938, with about half its homes predating 1940. Fall River's median is 1944, and nearly half of its homes were built before 1940 as well. Detached single-family houses are under a third of the stock in both cities, and only about four in ten homes are owner-occupied.

That adds up to two- and three-family buildings, landlords and investors, and walls that open up on plaster, balloon framing and the occasional run of knob-and-tube wiring. Anything built before 1978 is treated as a lead paint house until shown otherwise, so we follow lead-safe work practices from the first day of demo. When one unit is under construction and another is lived in, we sit down with the owner first and work out water and power shutoffs, dust control and access before anything starts.

Taunton, about three miles southwest of our shop in Raynham, sits between the cities and the suburbs. It has about 59,000 people, a median year built of 1962 and roughly 37 percent of its homes from before 1940, while just under half are detached single-family houses. On one street you can find a pre-war two-family beside a postwar ranch, which is why we never price a Taunton job from a photo.

Newer houses here tend to need layouts opened up, original baths redone and basements finished rather than structure fixed.

Inland towns where most homes are single-family

Away from the cities the numbers flip. In Berkley 96 percent of homes are detached single-family and 97 percent are owner-occupied. Rehoboth spreads about 12,600 people over nearly 47 square miles, and Freetown and Acushnet are both close to 90 percent single-family. Owners in towns like these usually come to us for kitchens, bathrooms, additions and finished basements. Where a house is on septic, adding a bedroom brings a Title 5 design-flow review, and any addition or deck goes on footings set below frost depth, commonly about four feet down.

Raynham, Norton and Dighton run newer. Raynham's median year built is 1986 and about 27 percent of its homes were built since 2000. Norton's median is 1982 with fewer than one home in ten built before 1940. Dighton is the odd one: nearly a third of its homes are from after 2000, yet a quarter predate 1940, so a house more than eighty years old and a new colonial can share a road. Newer houses here tend to need layouts opened up, original baths redone and basements finished rather than structure fixed.

To the west and northwest, Attleboro, North Attleborough, Easton and Mansfield sit in the 1970s by median year built, and between four and five homes in ten are something other than a detached house. Condos, two-families and rentals come up there more often than in the more rural towns.

The coastal towns and what salt air does

The south end of the county is on the water. Dartmouth has about 61 square miles of land and nearly 37 of water, Westport close to 50 of land and 15 of water, and Somerset just under 8 square miles of land with 4 more of water. Fairhaven, about 22 miles southeast of Raynham, has a median year built of 1953 and more than a third of its homes from before 1940.

Salt air, wind and freeze-thaw work on siding, trim, decks, roofs and fasteners faster than they do inland, so on a coastal job we talk about exposure before we talk about finishes. At 25 miles out, the far end of the county is still well inside our range, and we set the schedule so you know which days we are on site.

Every town in the county has its own building department, and the work follows the Massachusetts State Building Code, 780 CMR, with inspections along the way. Steve holds an unrestricted Massachusetts Construction Supervisor License, and licensed electricians and plumbers handle their trades. You get a written scope, clear updates and a clean site at the end of each day.